Riding Big Mo’ on the Big O

Stren Series winning momentum propels Browne to early Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern Division lead

CLEWISTON, Fla. – Two weeks ago Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla., won his first major-league bass tournament in the Stren Series event on Lake Okeechobee.

At the time, he noted that the win made him feel as if “a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.”

Apparently Browne still has that weightless feeling, as he assumed the day-one lead in the Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern Division event on Lake Okeechobee with a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 4 ounces.

And if you think Browne simply returned to his honeyhole of two weeks ago, guess again. He says Big Mo’, momentum that is, is on his side.

“I fished a completely different area today than I did two weeks ago,” Browne said. “It’s a community hole, and there were a lot of people in there today, but I just happened to get a couple of big bites.

“Some of it is attributable to momentum. I’m fishing relaxed and it feels good. I’m not scripting my day or going in with any preconceived ideas. One good thing seems to lead to another. I caught a 6-pounder early to get things rolling. Then the film crew pulled up and said they wanted to see a big fish. A few minutes later I caught an 8-pounder right in front of them while they were rolling. So, yeah, momentum has probably got something to do with it.”

Browne, however, does have a great deal of experience on Okeechobee, and over the years he’s developed a sense for knowing when he gets in a “sweet spot.”

“The big fish on this lake will get in real specific, tiny areas,” he described. “You can go all day and catch pound and a halfers and then suddenly come across one little sweet spot where the females are, and I hit one of those sweet spots today.”

And what about the canal that produced his win two weeks ago?

“It’s still in the back of my mind,” he added. “I don’t want to have to go there, but I will if I think I’m getting in trouble.”

Browne reported catching his fish on a Berkley Jerk Shad and a Power Hog.

Carter second

When Kip Carter of Oxford, Ga., laid five fish in the scale that weighed 19 pounds, 1 ounce for second place, no one was more surprised than he.

“I probably had the worst practice I’ve ever had in my life here this week,” Carter said. “Saturday I caught four little old bass. Sunday I never caught a single keeper. Monday I caught four tiny ones again. And Tuesday, right before I came in, I pulled in one little spot and caught one big fish. I went to that spot this morning and caught everything I weighed in.”

The problem with Carter’s area is that it’s one small 200-yard stretch of grass, and he’s not sure it’s going to hold. Given his poor practice, he does not have much upon which he can fall back.

“That’s what has me worried,” he said. “I’m going to have to live or die by this place. The wind was blowing in on it pretty hard this afternoon, and I just pray it doesn’t muddy up. I think the fish will replenish there, but if the wind muddies it up, I could be in trouble.”

Combs third

Keith Combs of Temple, Texas, grabbed third place on day one with 16 pounds, 12 ounces.

Combs only had six bites today, but it looks like he’s on to better-quality fish when compared to the numbers of small fish other anglers talked about catching today.

“I’m throwing a topwater frog made by Big Bite out of Texas, and it’s a little different from other topwater toads in that it floats high on the surface when it’s stopped instead of sinking,” he revealed. “Being able to pause it in the holes and let it float there motionless seems to trigger the bites.”

Combs did catch some fish on other baits today, but the biggest ones came on the frog.

Blosser fourth

Bob Blosser of Lodi, Wis., holds down third place with five fish for 16 pounds, 5 ounces.

“I’ve got an area to myself, and I think that’s made a difference for me,” Blosser said. “I only saw two other boats today, and it’s a big area, so it’s not crowded.”

As a result, Blosser has had the luxury of going through a lot of fish to cull up to his weight.

“I probably went through six limits of fish today,” he said. “It’s very shallow water, and I’m having to make long casts, but because there are so few boats in the area, I feel like the fish are not as spooky as they are in some of the more popular places.”

Newton tied for fourth

Jonathan Newton of Rogersville, Ala., is also in fourth place with a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 5 ounces.

Newton, too, noted having to go through several limits of small fish to find a big one.

“One of the biggest problems in this low water is the inability to move around efficiently,” he said. “Once you run back into a place and set down, it takes 15 or 20 minutes to idle out and find deep enough water to get up on plane. So you have to pick your spots carefully, because once you commit to them, you’re there for a while.”

Big bass

Bill Day of Frankfort, Ky., recorded the Snickers Big Bass in the Pro Division with an 8-pound, 12-ounce lunker worth $500.

Rest of the best

6th: Eric Ambort of Mabelvale, Ark., five bass, 16-3

6th: Lee McCracken of Ocala, Fla., five bass, 16-3

8th: Theron Caldwell of Colleyville, Texas, five bass, 16-0

9th: Andy Montgomery of Blacksburg, S.C., five bass, 15-6

10th: Bud Pruitt of Spring, Texas, five bass, 15-0

Wood leads co-anglers

Pamela Wood of Jonesboro, Ark., leads the Co-angler Division of the FLW Series Eastern event with three bass – that’s right, three bass – weighing 15 pounds even.

Wood began her day by buzzing a white Stanley Ribbit over shallow vegetation, and when her first strike of the day was a 6-pound, 13-ounce bass that crushed her topwater toad, she could not put it down.

“My pro partner, Bud Pruitt, was getting a lot more bites on a worm,” Wood described. “And I probably would have had a few more bites on a worm, too, but when I experienced that big bass eating the frog – and the excitement of horsing it in on Berkley braid through all the thick stuff – I just couldn’t put the Ribbit down.”

Her froggy commitment paid off with two other big fish falling victim to the Ribbit, but she lost two other big ones as well.

“That’s the nature of frog fishing,” she noted. “Because the fish are so far back in thick stuff and the hook has to find the fish’s mouth through all that plastic, you’re not going to land every bite. But, hey, with three fish weighing 15 pounds – I’m cool with it.”

Rest of the best

Wayne Pomeroy of Wellington, Fla., is in second place with five fish weighing 14 pounds, 14 ounces.

“I had a good guide,” Pomeroy said of his pro partner, Tim Johnson. “He took me to the fish, and I just had to throw out there and reel them in. I’ve fished 36 national events as a co-angler across different trails, and I can honestly say Tim is the best partner I’ve ever had. I just wish I could have him the next two days.”

Mark Phillips of Fayetteville, Ark., is in third place with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 11 ounces thanks to an 8-13 that anchored his limit.

“I caught the big one on the fourth cast of the day on a Gambler lizard,” Phillips said. “That cleaned the cholesterol out of my veins for the day.”

Matt Krekovich of Granite City, Ill., is in fourth place with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 9 ounces. His limit was also bolstered by an Okeechobee giant weighing 9-1.

Ty Hester of Russelville, Ala., and Josh Ramsey of Palmetto, Fla., are tied for fifth place with 14 pounds, 8 ounces.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:

7th: James Richardson Sr. of Harrison, Ohio, five bass, 14-1

8th: Chuck Rounds of Benton, Ky., four bass, 13-9

9th: Jess Caraballo of Danbury, Conn., five bass, 13-8

10th: Dennis Fielder of Minnetonka, Minn., five bass, 13-0

Big bass

Chuck Rounds (8th place) landed the day-one Snickers Big Bass in the Co-angler Division weighing 9 pounds, 1 ounce.

Day two of the Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern Division event on Lake Okeechobee begins Thursday at 7 a.m. EST at Roland & Mary Ann Martin’s Marina & Resort.